In the homestretch

So being now officially past 37weeks, this baby is considered full-term.  Everyday I wake up thinking, "Maybe today we will have our baby!"  (Eventhough I could be saying this for the next 4 weeks!)

I've starting drinking rasberry leaf tea, and taking evening primrose oil, and I keep on walking, and walking, and walking about 2 hours a day, I've even been picking up the pace to try and "get things going". 

Yesterday while swimming I started (or continued, by making an organized list ... ooh the things you do to occupy your mind while following the black line on the bottom of the pool - I've even tried doing long division...) thinking about the things I am looking forward to post-partum:

1.  The first on my list is the actual labour.  I know this sounds crazy, and perhaps when I'm going through it, I will take back these words, but I am excited to go through what I have been reading so much about, taking courses on, and listening to stories about.  I honestly feel like I'm sitting in the airport gate, waiting to get on a plane that will take me on an incredible journey.  But the waiting is the hardest part!  Having no control is something I totally struggle with.

2.  And the labour means I get to finally meet this little one.  Is it a boy or a girl?  How big?  Who does it look like?  Holding it, and being in general bliss with it.  (Btw I hate calling it "it".)

The rest of the list is in no particular order:

3.  Putting on my pants and socks and boots without feeling like it's the most collosal pain-in-the-butt workout of the day!  In general, doing things that require you to bend down, clean, pick things up off the floor, feed the dog, pick up dog poo etc.

4.  Sleep with comfort.  No backache, no pillows as support, no tossing and turning every hour, watching the clock slowing tick until a reasonable hour of getting up.  Not to mention the minimum of 4 trips to the bathroom. 

5.  Getting my heart-rate up.  It has been over a year since I last gave my heart a real little workout.  I have been diligently keeping my heart in a respectable and conservative zone, deemed more safe for carrying babies.  I long for a good sweat and a good hurt in running, swimming and biking.  Bring on the pain!

6.  Along the lines of # 5 - running.  I gave up my pregnant running around 34 weeks, but it wasn't anything very satisfying, it was barely running.  I can't wait to get my legs moving faster, breath hard and get to that place where I'm caught in a back-and-forth between my mind and body (much like the angel and devil bantering on your shoulders).  Where my mind is telling me "Ok, you can't keep this up, you need to stop."  But my autopilot body, just keeps on going, and my mind continues, saying, "Ok, so you're getting it done, so far, but look out ahead, there's a hill, better slow down..."  But the body responds by speeding up.  I love to push the body past the mind, to do things without thinking of the consequence (heart, lungs, legs blowing-up).

7.  In order to be able to more easily accomplish # 6, I'll need to lose the extra weight.  I wonder how much I will shed automatically after the baby is born.  Just the weight of the baby and the water, will be substantial.  And then, the excess fat I have packed on in my arms, legs, back, butt etc.  You just can't avoid the fat that automatically builds up for future breastfeeding.  However, I have actually lost weight these past two weeks.  Well if I stopped gaining weight, but the baby continues to grow, the weight must be re-distributing itself, from extra mommy-fat to, extra baby-fat.  Basically, I am really looking forward to getting my body back.

8.  In general, getting out-of-limbo.  I feel like I'm in limbo, waiting for the next part of my life to begin.

9.  Seeing Colin as a dad.  I'm pumped for him to be a dad, I know he will be a great dad.

10.  Wine and coffee!  I miss them so...  I miss wine more, if I had to choose one.  I am buying a few bottles to sip at in the weeks after birth in the evening.  So if you want to pop by and visit the baby, bring a bottle of red wine!  (Yes, yes, I know you have to limit and time your intake while breastfeeding.)